I listen to a lot of music. It helps me move when I’d rather just lay on the couch and stare at the ceiling, imagining things. I realized lately that there are some artists that I buy an entire album from and only like a few songs… but there are some that I can only listen to if I can hear the whole album all the way through. I’m not sure how it works, but I can’t just listen to one random song from it and be satisfied. All or nothing. I have little “favorite compilations” folders on my mp3 player, and the top five albums I’ve picked haven’t ever had a song end up in those folders. I love them as a whole too much to split them from their sibling songs.

I was 19 when this came out and it was my meditation soundtrack. Stressed? Headphones and Thirteenth Step. It cures my crazy mind every time. I used to listen to it and fall asleep. One time I fell asleep somewhere early in the track list and woke up between Pet and Lullaby–Maynard whispering “Go back to sleep” was the creepiest/best thing that’s ever happened to me.

This CD reminds me of my early high school years more than any other. I listened to this for four years straight and then just rediscovered it again this year. Just like in high school I can’t listen to it in pieces, they all flow together like one long song.

Like Phildel, The Romanovs is a Pandora find. I want, more than anything else in the world, to find more music like this. I don’t even know what to call it. Wikipedia labels it Indie/Alternative/Classical and says it has a Victorian spirit. There is something about the story like lyrics and her haunting voice that kills me, I can’t explain how much love I have for this genre. Whatever it is. Dark, classical, beautiful… It’s my favorite.